Folding anchor



Jan. 20, 1959 c. A. WlNSLOW 2,869,503

FOLDINGANCHOR Filed June 19, 1956 IN V EN TOR.

United? rates "The present invention relates to an anchoring device for vessels of any kind or type, hydroplanes, or other purposes where anchors are required. The principal advantages'of this anchor are that it can be relatively light weight and still have superior holding qualities'for the reason that the anchor is designed to dig into the bottom, principally by its construction rather than its weight.

Another important feature of the device is that it can be lowered to the bottom or raised from the bottom with a pilot house controlled anchor winch means without the necessity-of any manual labor whatsoever for hoisting, folding or stowing the anchor.

For instance, when the anchor is loweredand reaches the bottom it falls flat on the shank and the crowns with the points of the flukes held in position to dig into the bottom when the anchor is dragged in a'horizontal position. After-use, when it is desired toraise the-anchor, all that is necessary is to go ahead slow on the boat to slack up'the rode of the anchor cable'and then start the anchor winch. Due to the fact that the shank is pinioned approximately one-third the length of the fluke it isxeasy to raise up the pointsof the flukes, as the area raised is less than half of the'surface area of the total anchoring surface, which incidentally, is ef- 'fective holding area but not'effective resisting area when the anchor is raised. Thus it is easyto break out and raise the present anchor invention as compared to conventional anchors used in the past.

Another important feature of the invention is that when the anchor is raised from the bottom it foldscompletely flat and the flukes lie parallel with the shank, thus, when the anchor is raised from the bottom the flakes cannot foul on the hull of the vessel as the cable is Withdrawn into the hawsepipe by the winch. When the anchor reaches its maximum travel it simply comes in flat against the hull as the'shank is drawn into the hawsepipe. The fiukes remain vertical and are first swung away from the hull and then drawn in flat against the surface of the hull where the anchor assembly rests firmly by contact on the crowns and the points of the fluke. It is thus held firmly by the tension on'the shank against movement by the anchor cable.

Another important feature of the invention is that, due to the fact that the fiukes are vertical when the anchor is raised, mud, rocks, clay, etc., can slide off the fiukes of the anchor and thus the anchor can readily cleanse itself while being drawn to the surface, especially so if the vessel is moving ahead slow as the anchor is drawn Another important feature of the invention is that regardless of the type bottom onto which the anchor is lowered it eventually comes to rest on the crowns which are on the extreme width of the anchor, thus, as the anchor falls flat the crowns tend to prevent rolling and tip up the lower part of the fiukes and direct the points of the fiukes down into the bottom, thus making in effect a three point contact so that the flukes which are borne ig le ih h fiii Patented Jan. 25), 1959 down by their own weight and the weight of the shank tend to dig in immediately that the anchor is dragged on the bottom, thus the anchor flukes assume approximately a 30 to 35 degree angle in the'mud or sand, etc. Further angular movement is prevented by-a stop on the lower end of the shank which controls the digging angle of the anchor and thus the anchor always has'the optimum angle for digging into the bottom regardless of its texture.

Another novel feature of the invention is that the crowns on the lower edge of the flukes are effective on the bottom side to cause the anchor to dig in'until it is completely buried to the full limit of the fiukes and at that point the upper crowns contact the bottom surface and aid in resisting further digging of the anchor after -is has once been completely submerged and has reached the maximum surface area for most efiicient anchoring, with due consideration given to again raising the anchor from the bottom after its use.

Another novel feature of the invention is thatshould the anchor become hopelessly'fouled, a safety device is provided so'that'the anchor can be forced to shear a predetermined strength shear-pin. thus freeing the anchor from the shank and making it possible to withdraw the fiukes backwards from the bottom, as theyare attached to the shank with a short flexible cable or chain provided for that purpose.

Another advantage of the anchor is that when it is completely submerged as is normal in use, there are no fiukes or other detrimental obstructions sticking up above the bottom to foul the rode of a swinging ianchor cable as has been the case with conventional anchors used in the past. 7

"Still other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment selected for illustrated purposes and from the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown a preferred form of the invention but wish it to be understood that various changes in the size; shape and modification of construction can be resorted to without departing from the spirit or utility of the invention.

These and other features of the invention are described in the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a partially sectional view taken on the line 11 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 2 illustrates the flat side of the anchor showing the position of the shank between the fiukes and the position of the crowns on the lower outside corners of the bottom of the combined fiukes. Fig. 3 illustrates the anchor in a horizontal position showing howthe crowns contact the bottom and tip the point of the flukes down into the soft bottom as the anchor is dragged in a horizontal position. The proper angles for digging in and the limiting factor controlling the digging angle is also illustrated in Fig. 3. In Fig. 4 I have shown a conventional vessel with a power winch on the bow which can be controlled from the wheel house or otherwise and to which the anchor cable is attached. The anchor is shown being raised from the bottom and hanging in a fiat vertical position with the flukes protected by the shank and the whole assembly providing a relatively fiat surface which is drawn up against the hull as a flat assembly, thus as the shank is drawn into the hawsepipe, the fiat anchor assembly lies flat against the side of the hull, as is illustrated on the drawing. Fig. 5- is a partial section indicating the shape of the flukes which have a rib for stiffening purposes on the inner edge of the fiukes. Figure 6 illustrates the notched section of the shaft 12 further shown in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing, the anchor shank itl'in the several views has an eye 11 at the top and a hinge pin 1.2 through its lower end. The lower end of the shank is also provided with a Y formed plural stop means 13, which contacts the lower part of the combined flukes 14, thus limiting the swinging motion of the points of the flukes 16 when the anchor is dragged for anchoring purposes. The combined lower half of the flukes 14 is provided with crowns 17, which serve to kick up the pinioned lower half of the combined flukes when the anchor is lowered to a horizontal position, thus causing the points of the flukes 16 to dig into the bottom when the anchor is dragged in a horizontal position, as is indicated by the arrow 18 in Fig. 3. The crowns 17 are provided with ribs 19 which serve to strengthen the crowns and also to prevent the anchor from hanging up when it is drawn over the side of a ship or small boat, as the case may be. In certain types of service such as fishing from small boats in areas in which the bottom is covered with rocks, trees, stumps, brush, etc., it may be desirable to provide means for retrieving a hopelessly fouled anchor rather than to lose it entirely, therefore I have provided a safety feature wherein the lower Y extension of the shank in Fig. 3 is provided with eyes 20, through which is attached a flexible, preferably stainless steel cable 21, which passes from one eye through a hole 22 in the lower part of the anchor and over to the other eye, as is illustrated. In this case a small anchor would be provided with a predetermined strength shear pin 12a, Fig. 3. A preferred method incidentally, of making this would be simply to nick the standard pin 12 so that any extraordinary pull on the flukes 16 and shank 10 would shear off the pin 12a and thus the combined flukes would be held by the cable loop 21 and drawn out backwards as the shank 10 was raised in a vertical position, all of which is clearly illustrated in the drawings.

It is to be understood therefore, that in operation when the anchor is raised by means of a cable 23 and power winch 24, Fig. 4, the anchor will lie flat with the flukes parallel with the shank for the reason that the lower section 25 safely overbalances the upper section 26 in Fig. 2, thus causing the anchor to stand in a vertical position on a fiat plane, therefore as it is drawn up alongside of a hull as indicated in Fig. 4, by a power winch 24, the anchor will come up fiat alongside the hull and as the shank 10 is drawn into the hawsepipe the anchor with flukes vertical will be pulled fiat against the hull without danger of the fluke points hooking into the hull and becoming fouled or causing damage, as is the case with conventional anchors used in the past.

In other words, the lower part of the anchor as shown at 25, Fig. 2, safely overbalances the upper part of the flukes 26, thus causing the anchor to always stand vertically so that mud, silt, etc., can slide off the anchor and that there will be no danger of fouling when a large anchor is drawn in by a power winch or a small anchor is drawn over the rail of a boat manually. This anchor invention always comes up fiat and can be stowed fiat either against the side of a hull on deck or in the bottom of a boat, folding flat automatically without the necessity of any manual labor whatsoever. Conversely, when the anchor is lowered, it maintains a flat plane position until it strikes the bottom and tips over and then the crowns 17 cause the flukes to immediately dig into the bottom as the anchor is dragged until the maximum tilt and digging angle is maintained by the crowns 17 and stop members 13 on the bottom of the shank 10. The anchor when held vertically always swings freely on the hinge pin 12 while the assembly is suspended by the eye 11 in a vertical position.

It is to be understood that various modifications may be made in the exact construction, proportions and general dimensions of the anchor without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, therefore,

What I claim is:

1. An anchor of the stockless fiat twin fluke type com prising a shank having a forward end and a forked after end with a cable attachment at said forward end, said' pair of flat flukes being pointed and joined together forming a one piece flat structure with each fluke fixed relative to the other, a pivot bar mounting said flukes on said shank at said after end with said flukes extending toward said forward end and with said shank between said flukes, said flukes provided below said pivot bar with parallel sides and with relatively narrow, widely spaced crowns on their after outside edges, said lower end of said flukes and said crowns substantially outweighing the portion of the flukes between said spaced crowns and above said pivot, said fluke points and said spaced crowns on the bottom or after end of said fluke points simultaneously engaging the ground when in operative position, said flukes being caused to rotate down when drawn horizontally by said cable attachement to an angle of approximately 35 from the center line of said forked shank, said flukes being caused to lie parallel with said shank when said cable attachment raises said anchor in a vertical position.

2. A stockless anchor of the twin fluke type, comprising a shank having a forward end and a forked after end, with an eye for mooring cable attachment at said forward end, a pair of fiat pointed flukes joined together to form a one piece fiat structure with each fluke fixed relative to the other and provided with spaced and relatively narrow crowns on the outer edges of the after end thereof, a pivot bar mounting said pointed flukes on said forked shank at the after end thereof, said pointed flukes extending toward said forward end and with said shank between said flukes and said spaced crowns, said pointed flukes and said spaced crowns substantially simultaneously engaging the ground when in operative position, said shank and flukes being so proportioned and positioned relative to each other when in operative position that the area of said flat pointed fiukes is substantially balanced about said pivot bar with substantially more than 50% of the effective holding area thereof between said spaced crowns and forward of said pivot and substantially more than 50% of the total weight of the flukes and crowns aft of the pivot point.

3. A stockless anchor of the flat twin fluke type with a forked shank mounted between said flukes wherein said forked shank being provided on its forward end with a mooring cable attachment thereto and on its after end with a central pivot hole and two opposite holes on the lower extremity of the forks for a safety cable attachment a pivot bar mounting said flukes on said shank and provided with a notched section within its central portion and said flukes provided with a hole below said pivot point on the after end of said flukes, a safety cable attached to and passing from one side of said forked shank through said hole in said flukes and attached to the opposite side of the forked shank, said cable safety attachment passing from the forked shank extremities through the flukes of the anchor comprising in combination with said notched pivot bar means of providing a cable attachment between the bottom of said flat twin flukes and said mooring cable when said notched pivot bar is broken.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 31,276 Winans Ian. 29, 1861 2,282,566 Danforth May 12, 1942 2,651,277 Jenshak Sept. 8, 1953 2,711,150 Ogg June 21, 1955 2,743,695 Bowman May 1, 1956 2,798,447 Galloway July 9, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 467,303 Great Britain June 15, 1937 

